


If this love is pain, then honey let's love tonight

by AvaHasAClosetMurderBoard



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Light smut cuz I'm too pure sorry guys, Local dumbasses refuse to talk about feelings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:21:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23018491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaHasAClosetMurderBoard/pseuds/AvaHasAClosetMurderBoard
Summary: 'There’s some stories that pique her interest more than others, especially when a certain Black Canary is involved, so every time Dinah’s name escapes Felicity’s lips, Laurel is immediately drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. If Felicity has noticed, she’d chosen not to say anything - and Laurel is eternally grateful for it.Because you see, she and Dinah are not just in the ‘friends’ category these days.'orThe one where Laurel and Dinah absolutely refuse to talk about what happened between them and end up putting themselves in danger for one another.
Relationships: Dinah Drake & Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Dinah Drake/Earth-2 Laurel Lance
Comments: 13
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, this mess was supposed to be a small one shot and somehow turned into a multi chapter because lately it seems I'm incapable of writing anything below 7k words oops.
> 
> The idea for this came from re-watching that scene from 7x02 where Dinah just sits there in Laurel's office to protect her. I gave it an angsty spin because I just can't help myself and added my own plot and well... here we are ahah.  
> I'm not sure just how long this will be, but I'm aiming for 4 or 5 chapters tops - we'll see how it goes.
> 
> A massive thanks again to @Starling83 for the beta and @WardenRoot for cheering me on when I'm being an absolute ass about my own writing.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this first chapter and stick around for the rest ♥

Laurel finds it funny how indulging Felicity on a little ‘girl’s time’ never is a herculean effort, or something she feels obligated to do. It’s easy to talk to her, for some unknown reason, and it’s also freeing to be able to kick back and relax with a glass of wine, some snacks and an endless string of gossip. She’d never pegged Felicity as one to gossip in the first place, but Laurel had quickly learned that the woman is a deep well of juicy stories about Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow. There’s some stories that pique her interest more than others, especially when a certain  _ Black Canary  _ is involved, so every time Dinah’s name escapes Felicity’s lips, Laurel is immediately drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. If Felicity has noticed, she’d chosen not to say anything - and Laurel is eternally grateful for it.

Because you see, she and Dinah are not just in the ‘friends’ category these days.

All that push and pull had to end up into  _ something  _ at some point, but if someone had told her a few months back that that  _ something _ would be them falling together on Dinah’s bed, she’d laughed in their faces. It’d been a spur of the moment thing, the adrenaline from a close call leaving them both completely starving for human connection, and for the first time in a really long while, Laurel had felt the need to have a heartbeat against her chest that wasn’t her own. So when she’d reached out for Dinah, reached out to kiss her lips and push her down onto the couch they’d been sitting on, and Dinah hadn’t refused her, Laurel just took what was kindly offered. 

In hindsight, she should have thought twice about the situation they were putting themselves in and what it would mean for their dynamics. 

It’s not like all the consequences were not floating somewhere in her mind while clothes were being shed and teeth were grazing skin, but every time she had felt the need to pull away, Dinah would pull her right back in with a kiss or even a bite that was meant to be anything but gentle. Needless to say, it hadn’t taken too long for things to move into the bedroom, and the more they touched and explored, the more Laurel forgot about the massive line they’d just crossed.

And it was only when morning came and she’d woken up to an empty bed that reality finally managed to sink in and Laurel realized that things would  _ definitely be awkward _ between them.

Laurel was sadly nowhere prepared for just  _ how awkward _ they were about to get.

They didn’t talk about it then and still refuse to do it now, even if it’s quite evident that their relationship - friendship or whatever it is - is well strained. They manage to be somewhat civil to each other while they’re in the field or around their team, but at their actual daily jobs it’s like hell has descended upon the earth and they’re dancing on each other’s ashes. Dinah pushes twice as hard to get Laurel to prosecute the criminals she’s busting, going as far as physically showing up at her office and slam folder after folder, evidence after evidence, until Laurel is buried in it to her eyeballs. And Laurel is only too happy to respond in kind, either by blowing down hard on whatever little tower of cards Dinah has built a case upon and making her bust her ass on stacking everything back up, or by going as far as completely dismissing everything that is given to her as ‘circumstantial’ and Dinah has no choice but to let the perp go free. They’re each other’s hurricanes, bringing nothing but gale winds and flash floods to their workplaces, and of course people have started to catch up on the fact that something happened between them.

Which was to be expected, because it’s not everyday that one goes from sharing a quiet cup of coffee in their friend’s office to screaming their lungs out and slamming each other’s doors on a daily basis, and Laurel really wishes they’d just sit down and talk things out before it gets worse. The problem is every time she tries to reach out, tries to take a step forward towards resolution, Dinah takes two steps back like she’s afraid of something, and the wedge between them only gets wider and deeper. 

And she’s getting rather sick of staring into the dark abyss below.

Felicity's voice pulls her right out of her thoughts. “You okay, Laurel? I think you spaced out for a second there.”

“Yea- yeah, I’m fine,” she replies with a tight smile that surely doesn’t reach her eyes. “Just tired. It’s been a long day again at the office.”

There’s a hint of concern mixed with what looks awfully like  _ suspicion  _ that flashes in Felicity’s eyes, and Laurel is surprised when she doesn’t push nor asks questions. She just moves to refill Laurel’s glass and gives her a warm smile, before ending up going off on a rant about how Oliver seems to have arrows stashed everywhere in the house and how she’d accidently sat on one just the week before. The story is absolutely ridiculous and frankly hard to believe, but she welcomes the distraction nevertheless and silently thanks her friend for it - it’s just one of those days where she’d rather have anything but Dinah on her mind.

Laurel’s not sure for how long they’ve been sitting there talking and eating an absurd amount of chocolate when Felicity’s tablet starts to ping rather insistently. 

Night has long fallen in Star City, which can only mean that the alert has everything to do with the criminal population leaving their little hideyholes to create all sorts of chaos, which in turn means that Team Arrow is most likely needed to defuse whatever diabolic plan has been brewed for the day.

“Why can’t they take a day off?” she finds herself asking out loud with an exasperated sigh, her gaze on the ceiling. “I had plans to take a long, warm bath and get some decent sleep.”

She hears a chuckle in response to her words and doesn’t even bother looking as the other woman clearly gets up to check on her tablet, too uninterested in whatever’s going down outside to actually care. If she’s lucky Felicity will give her a break and send Oliver or one of the others to check it out, and Laurel can be on her merry way home to kick her heels off and relax. 

“Oh,” Felicity lets out and Laurel glances towards her, only to find her frowning down at the tablet in her hands. “Dinah’s comm just turned itself on for some reason… And she’s not due to any patrol today that I know of.” 

The words have an instant effect on her. She sits up straighter, eyes narrowed as she watches Felicity frantically tap at the screen for a few beats. “Couldn’t she have activated it by accident?” Laurel finds herself reasoning, “Or you know, gone for an unscheduled patrol by  _ herself _ ? Wouldn’t be the first time, anyway.”

“I mean it’s possible, but…” she trails off and walks back towards the couch, her eyes still very much glued to the tablet. “Even if that’s the case, we should check just to make sure she’s not in trouble.”

A few more taps and the sound of indistinct chatter suddenly fills up the room, and Laurel swears both she and Felicity hold their breath the second footsteps are audible. There’s a pause, and then a rough man’s voice comes through.

_ “It seems we have a deal then, miss Boland. My boss accepted your… generous donation and agrees to back off the target.” _

Laurel has to suppress the gasp that she nearly lets out when her mind registers just  _ whose voice  _ that is - it belongs to a fairly recognizable old ‘acquaintance’ of hers from Central City, back when she was still  _ Black Siren _ . The man himself is just a mercenary-for-hire of sorts, a guy that just shows his face and does the jobs he’s paid to do without asking any questions... but the one he works for has always been someone to watch out for, someone one really doesn’t want to get tangled with.

So why and how did Dinah end up mixed up with them?  __

_ “That’s good to hear.”  _ Dinah’s voice comes through.  _ “Did you also tell him I don’t wanna see you or his sorry ass around Star City again? We have enough mercs around to do the dirty work, we don’t need outsiders.” _

The man laughs.  _ “I sure did. He thinks you’re a very funny woman.” _

Felicity looks at her with an unreadable expression, but the concern lining her eyes is impossible to miss. She’s probably wondering what’s going on just as much as she is, and Laurel really wishes she could tell her that it’s probably okay, that Dinah just went undercover for a job and turned her comm on just in case things go haywire.

Except she’s now seriously doubting this was for a job  _ at all _ . 

_ “Oh yeah, I’m all fun and games until I put a bullet in your skull.”  _ Dinah speaks again.  _ “We done here? I have better things to do than standing here looking at your sorry face.”  _

A chuckle.  _ “Here I thought we were getting along so well. It’s a pity really, the boss was looking forward to having that traitor’s head on a pike tonight.”  _

_ “Can’t always have everything.” _

_ “Yeah, about that...”  _ The unmistaken sound of a gun being cocked is heard then, and Laurel’s eyes go wide..  _ “The thing is, Tina- or should I say Captain Drake - my boss doesn’t do deals without double checking who’s on the other side of the table.” _

More words are being traded, but the rest of the exchange doesn’t register on Laurel’s mind - all she can think of is how Dinah is in danger and that she has to  _ move fast  _ before they lose her.

Because those guys  _ really don’t play around _ .

She’s bolting out of the couch before Felicity can even say a word. “Felicity, tell me where Dinah is, I’m going after her.” 

“What? Laurel no, you can’t go by yourself. We don’t even know what we’re up against or how many men are out there. Let me reach Oliver and the others first-”

“There’s no time!” She’s shouting now as she reaches for her jacket, fearful of what may happen if she doesn’t run out of the room at that moment. “Where is she?!”

  
  


******

The ride towards the old pier feels like the longest one of her entire life. Felicity had managed to connect her to Dinah’s comm, along with the rest of Team Arrow, so she was listening in real time to the situation at hand and the rescue being planned in the background. To their luck - and mostly Dinah’s - this particular mercenary always had a flair for the dramatic, so instead of finishing the job, he’d been busy for the past minutes giving out a long speech about ‘learning not to mess with the wrong guys’ and how the cops in Star City would finally ‘stop sticking their noses where they don’t belong’. Her theory that Dinah had gone undercover for a case without telling anyone seemed to fit the bill, that is until the words  _ ‘Black Siren’ _ are mentioned and Laurel’s world just about comes crashing down.

_ “The boss was surprised,”  _ she hears the man saying,  _ “that someone like you would stick her neck out to protect Black Siren. You know she’s a criminal right? Sooner or later she’ll get you, just like she got the others. We were going to do the city a favor.” _

Something twists painfully in her gut at the words.  _ ‘What have you got yourself into, Dinah? And for what? For me? Why?’ _

_ “She’s not. At least not anymore.”  _ Dinah’s voice sounds strained as she speaks.  _ “I came here because I believe in her.” _

The man laughs.  _ “You must be pretty stupid then, to believe that.” _

Anger boils deep in her soul at his words, along with something else, something lighter that makes her heart flutter in her chest. If the situation wasn’t so dire, she wouldn’t stop herself from hoping - against all reasoning - that the answer for Dinah’s avoidance of the topic of the night they’d spent together was far more complex than meets the eye. She willingly put herself in harm’s way to protect Laurel and not many, if any  _ at all,  _ would have done the same. 

She speeds up and just barely manages to dodge the oncoming traffic, before making a sharp turn towards the old dirt road that leads down to the pier. She kills the lights and slows down, riding for a few more meters until she figures that’s close enough without being detected. Laurel turns the motorcycle off and nearly vaults out of it, immediately breaking onto a sprint as soon as her feet touch the ground towards where she can see the faint lights coming from the pier.

Oliver is on her ear the second she passes through a gap on the rusty fence and enters the perimeter. ' _ Laurel, Felicity has eyes on you. Do not engage until the rest of the team is there, am I clear? ETA is twenty minutes _ .'

As he stops speaking, there’s more sounds that come through Dinah’s comm. A grunt, a laugh, a gun being loaded. Laurel starts to feel sick. “She doesn’t have that long. I’m going in. Laurel out.”

There’s a sound of protest but it’s half cut by Laurel shutting off her own comm. She trails carefully, concealing her presence behind the large old shipping containers, and after navigating through a maze of old junk, it doesn’t take her long to spot the first guards standing by the entrance of the warehouse.

Laurel’s pretty sure that’s where Dinah’s at.

The men are armed to the teeth but they appear to be just as bored as they look. They’re chatting and laughing and  _ so conveniently distracted  _ that it really doesn’t take her long to figure out how to get close without them seeing her. She gets into position, just ready to make a run for it behind the edge of a large container, and blows an aimed  _ sonic wave  _ towards some loose scraps of metal. It makes a sound, just loud enough to warrant a look, and she’s more than happy when the guys fall for it and move from their spot to check it out. 

Laurel uses the blind spot she just gained to her advantage and moves in quickly and quietly. She lets out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding when her back makes contact with the brick wall on the side of the warehouse. She’s safely tucked inside an alcove when there’s footsteps announcing the return of the guards to the front door, but she’s not too worried about it when she glances to the side and finds a smashed window lacking the thick bars to keep intruders at bay. It’s covered with a thick plastic and some cardboard though, so she has no idea what she’ll drop into on the other side, but it’s a risk she’s willing - and has to - take if she wants to save Dinah.  __

She moves towards it, keeping as close to the wall as possible, and when she reaches it, Laurel’s hand moves up to grab at the plastic. She freezes mid movement, however, when a particular grunt of pain is heard from both the comm and the inside of the warehouse.

_ ‘You’re tough, I give you that,’  _ she hears the man say,  _ ‘but you’ll break one way or the other. If you’re protecting Black Siren then you know where she’s hiding… I want that location.’ _

_ ‘Go to hell.’ _

_ ‘Wrong answer.’ _

Another loud grunt echoes through her ears and Laurel doesn’t know if she’s more glad or pissed that Dinah’s being so damn stubborn right now. On the one hand, she’s managing to stall the sure execution, but on the other she’s sitting there getting hurt  _ because she’s protecting Laurel. _

She still can’t believe the audacity of the woman, truly.

Laurel pushes the plastic aside without much of a hassle or noise, and reaches for the cardboard. It’s surprisingly well stuck, but with a bit of a jiggle here and there, she manages to loosen it up enough to get a peek. 

It’s too dark inside to see, but the more she pushes the cardboard away, the more she realizes it leads to a small side room. It’s littered with papers and dust, and she spots a desk flipped on its legs and a smashed up chair against the right wall; there’s filing cabinets, most of them missing drawers, against the left wall, and right next to them she spots a door. It’s hard to wiggle herself into the space without having to move the entire cardboard and possibly giving her position away, but she somehow manages, even with one of her favorite shirts being a casualty on the attempt, a nasty tear on the side spelling the end of that particular love story. 

There’s some dust that flies up the second she lands on the other side, and Laurel has to stop herself from sneezing when it hits her nose. She’s careful as she navigates the few steps that will take her right to the door, but as Dinah’s comm suddenly goes awfully quiet, fear of being too late forces her limbs to move  _ faster.  _ She stands right against the old wood as footsteps sound on the other side approaching her, along with two voices.

One she recognizes as the mercenary, but the second is unfamiliar. 

_ “Why not just kill her?” _ she hears the second man ask, their voices floating closer and closer.  _ “I thought we had orders from the boss to just put a bullet in her and toss the body.” _

_ “She’s the police captain,”  _ the mercenary replies.  _ “She’s actually more valuable to us alive than dead. She’s good leverage and she has access to info we can use later.” _

The conversation continues, now fading away as the men move further and further from her location, but Laurel just manages to focus on one thing: Dinah is still alive. A heavy, screeching sound reaches her ears, like old metal moving against old metal, and she realizes that could have only been the front gate of the warehouse being pushed open. 

That’s her window of opportunity. Laurel pulls the door open just enough to take a peek.

There’s rows and rows of shelves almost as tall as the warehouse ceiling, some empty and others filled with all kinds of fishing gear and other crap. Some containers are placed here and there, along with old fish barrels, and Laurel hopes it will give her the cover she needs  _ at least  _ until she figures out where they’re keeping Dinah. 

Her limbs are screaming for her to  _ move  _ but before she can do that, she decides to take a punt. Laurel closes the door again and leans her back into it, fingers reaching for the comm in her ear. She takes a deep breath to try and steady herself, and when she feels ready enough she presses down on the button.

“Dinah,” she whispers carefully, both in fear of startling the other woman and of being heard by the men inside the warehouse. “If you can hear me, I’m inside the warehouse. I’m coming to get you and we are going to get out of here in one piece, okay? So don’t you dare die on me because once this is all over with, I’m sure as hell  _ going to murder you  _ myself.”

Silence. 

“I’m serious,” she tries again, the fear lacing her every word betraying her attempt at humoring the situation. “I’ll go down to hell to get you if I have to, Dinah Drake. You can’t escape from me.”

The chuckle she gets in response is barely there, but it’s just what Laurel needed to hear to ease her mind, even if just for a little bit. She’s glad Dinah has chosen to remain quiet instead of yelling at her and telling her off, but she’s also worried she chose not to do  _ just that.  _ A thought of just how injured she must be unwelcomingly floats in her mind, but Laurel pushes it away. There’s no time to wonder, only time to act - and she’s already wasted a few precious minutes. 

She eases the door open again and slips into the hallway this time, carefully watching where she steps to avoid making too much noise. She takes cover where she can, and as she does she peeks through the gaps of twisted metal and shelves, mentally marking the location of the guards inside. The place is not that heavily guarded at least, Laurel counting five men inside, but she’s pretty sure these guys aren’t amateurs and will sure put up one hell of a fight should she engage them directly. 

The sound of gunshots, followed by a massive commotion outside, alerts her that Team Arrow has  _ finally  _ made it to the site. Laurel takes cover as the guards shout and start to move towards where presumably the front gate is located, which makes her life much easier in trying to locate Dinah. 

When she turns the corner, she doesn’t need to look much further. 

There’s two guards standing by a closed door, their guns aimed and ready to fire. They’re facing away from her, towards the location where the others had run to, and Laurel enjoys the way they seem agitated, their hands itching to pull the trigger and join the fight outside.

Too bad she’s not going to let them do anything of the sort.

Laurel gets in position and opens her mouth, releasing a cry strong enough to render them unconscious. It’s not that hard to pull off considering the place is littered with all sorts of heavy metal containers, so when they’re pushed by the wave and hit the container to their left like rag dolls, they’re goners. 

She takes no time making it towards the door and when she pries it open, her eyes immediately zero in on the figure strapped to the chair in the middle of the room.

_ Dinah.  _


	2. Chapter 2

Laurel rushes to her and kneels down by the chair, hands immediately reaching out to lift Dinah’s chin up so she can see her face, which is currently obscured by hair. She brushes a few of Dinah’s strands away with a gentleness she didn’t know she possessed, and it’s then that their gazes meet for the first time. Laurel has to push down the rush of emotions that suddenly try to claw their way up her throat when she takes note of the blossoming bruises on Dinah’s skin and the split on her lip that still appears to be bleeding. The sounds of gunshots help keep her grounded by reminding her of the urgency of the situation - there’s no time to let her emotions bleed through when they’re still not completely out of danger. So she fights the urge to kiss each and every bruise, fights the urge to pull Dinah close and feel her heartbeat against her own, and fights to keep her tears at bay. 

Dinah’s looking at her with an unreadable expression, and she’s surprisingly awake and aware for someone who looked like she was passed out cold not a minute prior. She flashes Laurel a small smile and that’s all it takes for at least  _ one emotion  _ to break through the surface - anger. 

“You could have gotten yourself killed,” Laurel hisses out, her hands dropping from Dinah’s face to tug at the restraints holding her to the chair. “What were you even thinking?”

“I was trying to protect you-”

“I don’t need protection, I can take care of myself.” She glances up as she finishes freeing Dinah’s right wrist and their gazes meet again. “You should have told me, Dinah. These guys don’t play around.”

A sigh. “I know they don’t. I just thought I could sort this mess out without getting you involved.”

Laurel shakes her head, eyes moving to the next restraint as she starts working on undoing it. “I was already involved, one way or the other, so you should have told me. Don’t be stupid, keeping these things to yourself. You’re not Oliver Queen.”

There’s a pause before Dinah lets out a low chuckle. “He can hear you, you know?”

“ _ I’m glad. _ ”

They don’t exchange more words as Laurel works on getting the rest of the ropes off and away from Dinah, and once the other woman is free she straightens herself up. Her hands hoover uncertainly, while she wonders what’s the best way to help Dinah up to her feet without upsetting any bruise or wound that she can’t see, but then Dinah just reaches out for her hands with her own and Laurel holds onto them tightly. She pulls her up with some effort, and when Dinah’s completely upright she lets out a hiss and drops one of Laurel’s hands to clutch at her midsection. 

Laurel’s brow furrows at the motion. “You’re hurt.”

Dinah’s eyes find hers, much closer now than they’ve been before, and Laurel nearly forgets how to breathe at the sight. “Thanks for stating the obvious,” she replies between clenched teeth, another hiss leaving her lips when she attempts to take a step by herself. 

“I don’t think this is the time to be sarcastic, Dinah.” She shifts, letting go of Dinah’s hand completely so she can drape the woman’s arm above her own shoulders. One of her hands nearly goes to wrap around her midsection, until she realizes that’s probably a bad idea and places it on Dinah’s hip instead. “Do you think you can walk or do I have to get someone to carry you?”

“I can walk just fine,” Dinah lets out with that same stubborn tone that never fails to make Laurel’s blood boil, and Laurel just rolls her eyes but helps her regardless, supporting most of her weight as they take a couple of tentative steps towards the door. The motions are slow and strained, and Laurel can feel the enormous effort Dinah is making on putting one foot in front of the other. When they reach the threshold she nearly loses her footing but Laurel manages to catch them both before they can end up on the floor. 

“Like hell you can,” Laurel nearly growls out, her anger reaching new heights. “Your stubbornness is going to be the death of you, Dinah Drake.” She manages to maneuver them both towards a small closed crate that’s lying nearby and shifts Dinah’s arm away from her own shoulders. “Sit.”

“Laurel, I told you I’m fine-”

“ _ Sit _ ,” she practically commands, eyes narrowing as she glances towards the other woman’s face. “I’m not asking you again, Dinah.”

It takes a few seconds too long for Dinah to stop glaring back at her and  _ finally  _ comply, slowly sinking down onto the crate. Laurel helps her the best she can, and the second she’s sure Dinah’s properly settled she reaches for the hem of the other woman’s shirt without thinking twice about it. A firm hand grabs hold of her wrist when she tries lifting the material up, and reality sinks in the second she meets Dinah’s gaze. There’s so much going on in her eyes that Laurel starts to feel dizzy trying to keep up with the storm of emotions swirling there, so she averts her gaze. 

“I just want to check on your wounds,” she says quietly, “to make sure it’s nothing serious.”

Dinah doesn’t say anything for a moment, but when her grip on Laurel’s wrist goes slack, she takes that as permission. She lifts the shirt carefully, her eyes trailing over every inch of skin that’s slowly revealed to her, and Laurel tells herself that the fluttering she feels in her chest at the sight of it is just worry and  _ nothing more _ . It doesn’t take long for her to finally spot the bruising along Dinah’s left side, right above her ribs, and she subconsciously finds herself trailing the shapeless marks with a feather light touch of her fingers. She feels Dinah shivering at the action and her mind immediately flashes back to that night, and it’s like some unknown force tugs and pulls and pushes then. Laurel leans forward to place a gentle kiss on the bruised skin without a second thought, and the moment her lips make contact with the skin she hears Dinah letting out a breath through her nose.

She looks up then, half startled and half aware she’d just crossed some sort of line, but the only thing she finds is Dinah watching her through half lidded eyes. 

Laurel doesn’t get the chance to contemplate - or even ask - what’s happening between them because next thing she knows, Rene and Curtis are appearing at the end of the hallway and making their way towards them. She lets go of Dinah’s shirt and quickly stands up, scowling her features into a more neutral expression as the two men reach them and immediately get busy fussing over a tightly smiling Dinah. 

Oliver shows up a minute later, his face the perfect portrayal of annoyance and barely contained anger, and when his eyes meet hers, Laurel knows she’s never going to hear the end of this. Luckily she’s spared of the lecture - at least for now - when Oliver bounds over to where Dinah’s sitting to better check up on her. Together, the three men try to reach a consensus on how to best move Dinah without upsetting any of her wounds, and Laurel just leans against the opposite wall, arms crossed above her chest as she watches. She would prefer keeping Dinah as close as possible, but seeing as that may raise suspicions with the others, she chooses to let them have a go at caring for the other woman - at least for now. Laurel is surprised it doesn’t take them long to figure out the logistics, even with Dinah’s stubbornness, and she watches as Curtis and Rene carefully help the other woman up. 

It’s impossible to miss the  _ ‘we need to talk’  _ underlined in the look Dinah shoots her as they move her away. 

******

The mood at the bunker is a somber one.

Dinah’s absolute refusal to be taken to the hospital, claiming there would be too many questions asked to why the police captain was injured, had left the team no choice but to take her to the bunker instead. Felicity and Diggle had been informed and stood at the ready with medical supplies and a somewhat soft place to have Dinah lay on, so the moment they’d made it back Curtis and Rene were instructed on where to bring her. 

Which had left Laurel  _ alone  _ with Oliver by the monitors. 

“What you did back there was  _ reckless, _ ” he begins and Laurel rolls her eyes, “even for you. You should have waited for the rest of the team. We were  _ on our way _ , Laurel.”

“Yeah, but not fast enough. You don’t know those guys like I do, Oliver, they would have killed her. She only got  _ lucky  _ because of  _ her status  _ and because that guy’s  _ boss _ wasn’t around to finish the job  _ himself _ .”

“ _ Regardless of that _ , you put one person’s life from  _ my team  _ at risk by going in by yourself.” Oliver takes a step forward, right into Laurel’s personal space and points a finger at her. “That better not happen again.”

Laurel narrows her eyes at his words and it’s her turn to take a step forward, leaving her face-to-face with Oliver. “Last I checked, Dinah was the one who  _ deliberately  _ put herself in danger by sticking her nose in my business, so maybe tell her to stop doing that instead of standing here  _ yelling  _ at the person who risked her own neck to save  _ one of your own _ .” 

“I will deal with Dinah  _ later _ , my concern right now is with  _ you, your behaviour and your past allegiances. _ Are there any more criminal organizations from outside Star City that we should be aware of? Some more old buddies of yours planning to visit any time soon?”

A bitter laugh escapes her and her next words come out as a snarl. “Do you honestly think I actually  _ planned this _ ? They came without a warning and I only heard about it the same way you did. I haven’t had any dealings - or contact - with these guys since I left Central City,  _ which was months ago _ . Trust me, have I known in advance, I would have taken care of them way sooner.”

“That’s the thing, Laurel, trust is something  _ you earn  _ and you haven’t earned mine yet. Besides with all the strings you’ve been pulling, all the lies you’ve been telling… Can you honestly blame me for thinking you knew about this?”

“You know what?  _ Go to hell, Oliver. _ ”

Laurel turns on her heel, planning to leave that place as fast as possible, but the moment she descends the small flight of stairs, Curtis and Rene turn the corner and enter the area. She pauses for a moment, half expecting them to look at her the same way Oliver did, but is surprised to find determination in their expressions instead of blame. 

Curtis is the one who speaks as they approach. “The guy who did this to Dinah is in custody, but his boss is still out there.” He pauses right in front of her and levels her with a questioning look. “I don’t suppose you have any intel on this guy that can help us track him down?”

There’s something comforting in the way they aren’t blaming her for what happened, in the way they stand there basically  _ asking for her help  _ finding the bastard pulling the strings, and Laurel takes solace in knowing that Dinah has found herself friends that can see past everything to look at the greater picture. Unlike a  _ certain someone _ , who’s standing by the railing watching the conversation unfold with an unreadable expression on his face. 

Laurel shoots him a look. 

“Franklin Everson,” she finds herself saying after a second, “is the man you’re looking for.”

Curtis nods and walks past her, going straight for the computer to most likely run a search. Rene follows him soon after and Laurel just stands there unmoving, at least until she reasons her escape can wait a few more minutes. If she’s lucky, she will have a location for the son of a bitch soon enough, and will be able to pay him a little visit.

She doesn’t want Team Arrow to have the satisfaction of taking him down -  _ it has to be her _ . 

Laurel basically glues herself to Curtis' side as he types away, occasionally chiming in with some details about the man’s dealings and known former associatives they can look into to narrow the search down. Turns out Franklin is quite good at covering his tracks, and Rene points out that perhaps he had never left Central City in the first place, and that perhaps he was handling everything from a distance all along… And that’s when it hits her.

“There was a phone call,” she suddenly says, and the two men eye her expectantly. “When Dinah turned her comm on, it sounded like the guy was returning from making a phone call to Franklin. Maybe that can be traced... ?”

“Kinda like looking for a needle in a haystack there, considering we don’t have his phone,” Rene speaks up. “We were a bit too busy getting the hell out of there to check for that.”

“... True, but that area is pretty remote, I don’t think a lot of calls have pinged the cell tower nearby…” A few more keys pushed and a small list pops on the screen, with about twenty different numbers. “See? We can try and narrow down the call, do we know around what time Dinah’s comm was turned on?”

A familiar voice chimes in then. “Around half past ten, give or take.”

All heads turn, including hers, towards the direction where the sound came from, and Laurel subconsciously folds her arms above her chest at the sight of Dinah, standing there with Felicity by her side supporting her. The bruising is still pretty evident on her skin even though she’s been patched and cleaned up, but it’s obvious in the way she’s carrying herself that she shouldn’t be on her feet. 

Oliver is the one who verbalizes her concerns - and everyone else’s really. “Dinah, you should be resting.”

“That’s what I told her,” Felicity speaks up, “but she’s just as stubborn as you are. Besides, that little cot we put together is not really ‘good night’s sleep’ material so maybe it’s best someone drives her home.”

Rene chimes in. “Is that wise, though? The guy who ordered all this is still out there.”

“Should be fine if someone stays in with Dinah or if we keep watch outside her apartment in shifts.” Diggle shows up clutching a bag with medical waste in his left hand. “Just depends on what would be wiser considering the guy we are dealing with here.”

“Guys, I’m literally standing  _ right here _ .” The annoyance is palpable in Dinah’s words. “Don’t  _ I  _ have a say in this?”

“You do, but we’re just trying to look out for you here, Dinah. And-” Curtis turns around and taps a few more keys until there’s a  _ ping  _ from the computer. He turns back around again. “I’m leaving a program running to manually check each phone number that came up on the search so I’m free to take you home, if you’d like?”

“That’s very kind of you, Curtis, but…” Dinah trails off then and her gaze meets Laurel’s for the first time since the warehouse, and Laurel doesn’t like where this is going even before Dinah has a chance of verbalizing her thoughts. “Laurel can take me home.”

Of course Dinah would ask  _ just that.  _

All eyes in the room are suddenly on Laurel and she really wishes a hole would just open up under her feet and swallow her at that moment. She shifts uncomfortably from all the unwanted attention, her eyes still on Dinah’s, and she hopes to god that her expression and body language alone is enough for the other woman to reconsider and maybe take Curtis up on his offer instead. 

Needless to say it  _ doesn’t.  _

“... No offense, Dinah, but isn’t that a bit too risky?” Felicity says. “This guy has it out for Laurel and he’s probably well aware by now you’re not dead so… Being together, you know, in the same place  _ may not  _ be the best idea right now.”

“That’s exactly why it’s a good idea. If we’re at the same location you guys can more easily keep an eye on both of us.”

“Yeah well, when you put it like that…”

“It’s decided then,” Dinah speaks with a finality in her voice that leaves no space for further arguments. “Laurel will take me home and stay over.”

“I assume I have no say in this?” Laurel finally manages to find her voice. “I have little interest in playing nurse all night and crashing on your couch like we’re buddies.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,  _ sweetheart _ .” 

******

Diggle ends up driving them up to Dinah’s apartment, after the logistics of having an injured Dinah riding on the back of Laurel’s bike was quickly deemed like a terrible idea. It’s a relatively quiet drive, but painfully  _ slow  _ with him driving as carefully as possible to avoid jolting any of Dinah’s injuries, and Laurel feels her sanity draining more and more as each minute ticks by. Midway through it Dinah decides Laurel’s shoulder is a nice spot to lay her head against, and Laurel has to awkwardly sit there being subjected to the odd looks Diggle starts throwing her way through the rearview mirror. 

She tells herself that the only reason she doesn’t push Dinah away is because she’s hurt, and definitely not because she is actually  _ enjoying  _ the closeness. 

When they  _ finally  _ arrive, Diggle insists on doing some recon first, just to make sure Dinah’s apartment is secure and holds no surprises. Laurel rolls her eyes and is about to voice how unnecessary that is, but the words die on her lips when Dinah just wordlessly hands over her key to Diggle without any protesting. The action both surprises and worries her, considering not even thirty minutes ago Dinah had complained about all the fuss she was being subjected to, and Laurel really wonders if there’s a chance Dinah is actually  _ scared  _ after what happened tonight.

She waits until Diggle leaves the car and his no longer within earshot to speak. “Are you going to tell me the real reason why you’re letting Diggle check your place?” 

Dinah, who still has her head on Laurel’s shoulder, remains silent for a moment as if digesting her next words. “I simply don’t have the energy to argue anymore.”

“Fair enough, I suppose…” she trails off, before adding “But you’d tell me if you were scared, right?”

That seems to get Dinah’s attention. She lifts her head and their gazes meet, and Laurel nearly forgets to breathe from the intensity of the look she receives. “If I’m scared of something-  _ for someone _ , it’s definitely not for myself.”

It takes her a full minute to read the implications behind Dinah’s words. Laurel scoffs and rolls her eyes. “If you’re scared for my safety, maybe you should take a long look at yourself first.” She shifts carefully in the seat until she can face the other woman and as if to demonstrate her point, her right hand moves to cup Dinah’s jaw and tilts her head slightly. The purples and yellows on her cheek are visible even in the low street light. “I’m not the one who’s looking  _ like that _ .” 

“Better me looking like this now than the team having to find your body in the harbor first thing in the morning.”

Anger boils inside her at the statement, and Laurel lets out a growl. She pulls her hand away from where it’s resting under Dinah’s chin like she’d been burned. “I told you already, I can take care of myself  _ just fine. _ ” She points an accusing finger at Dinah. “And don’t you  _ dare _ try to turn the tables here because  _ you  _ were the one who chose to not tell me I was being hunted in the first place and almost got yourself  _ killed  _ in the process.” 

“I did what I had to do to  _ protect you _ ,” Dinah spits out, eyes narrowed. “It’s my job as the police captain to make sure the  _ DA  _ doesn’t get killed by some criminals from out of town.”

“Oh, so this was all to just protect the DA, uh? Maybe I should resign then, maybe that will keep the police captain from nearly getting herself  _ killed _ .”

A pause. “That’s not how it works, Laurel.”

“Of course it’s not.” Laurel’s voice softens then, to just barely above a whisper for the next words. “Because this was never about Laurel the DA in the first place, was it?”

Dinah averts her eyes, her gaze falling on her own lap, and Laurel notices the way she begins fidgeting - something she knows Dinah only does when she’s nervous. Part of her wants to reach out, to cover the other woman’s hands with her own, to reassure her that it’s okay to talk about things… But she also knows, from past experiences and attempts, that if she pushes too hard Dinah will feel cornered and start to get defensive, and all the efforts will be for naught. So she doesn’t push, doesn’t say anything - she only waits. 

“You’re right,” she hears her admitting after a few heartbeats. It’s spoken in such a soft low tone that Laurel is not even sure she’d heard it right until Dinah continues. “This has nothing to do with you being the DA.”

The admission is out in the open now, and Laurel decides this is the moment to try and bring up the elephant in the room. “This is about that night, isn’t it?” When Dinah remains quiet, Laurel takes her silence as a ‘yes’. “You do realize that if that’s true, it only complicates things right? Because here I was  _ believing all this time  _ that to you what happened was nothing but a mistake, a regret, when in reality-”

“Laurel, stop. Please, just…” Dinah shakes her head. “I’m not ready to have this discussion in the back of Diggle’s car, of all places.”

“Okay,” she concedes, “we’ll talk inside then.”

It doesn’t take too long for Diggle to show up with the ‘all clear’ and both he and Laurel slowly help Dinah inside the apartment. She’s more mobile than she’d been back at the warehouse, but she’s still unsteady on her feet regardless of what she may want to believe, so Laurel doesn’t take any risk. She keeps her body as close as possible to Dinah’s, especially when Diggle lets go so they can make it through the front door. There’s a small moment of tension after they cross the threshold where Dinah refuses to be taken into the bedroom, arguing that the couch is just as fine and closer, but Laurel absolutely refuses to listen to her this time and maneuvers them both through the living room. Diggle helps by opening the door to Dinah’s bedroom with an amused expression on his face, and Laurel just offers him an eye roll in response as Dinah continues her complaining.

It’s like trying to reason with a six-year-old about bedtime.

Laurel gently eases Dinah down until she’s sitting on the bed. “Now, you better not try and do something stupid by yourself while I’m gone,” she pointely says, a small smile blooming on her lips when all she gets in return is a glare. Laurel turns then, only to find Diggle looking between them with an unreadable expression. “What?”

“Nothing, just worried about Dinah.”

“For the hundredth time,  _ I am fine _ .” 

Laurel simply rolls her eyes. “See? She’s fine.”

The man shakes his head and offers his goodnight and get well soon wishes to Dinah, before he’s following Laurel out of the room, closing the door behind himself. He’s awfully quiet as they cross the space of Dinah’s living room, until they reach the front door, that is. 

“You and Dinah,” he begins and Laurel pauses with her hand on the doorknob,“you’re awfully domestic for two people who supposedly hate each other.”

She whips her head around to glare at him. “There’s nothing  _ ‘domestic’  _ about us. If you’re talking about me making sure that dumbass didn’t die today, I only did it because all of you would blame me for it if she did.”

“Right… and it has nothing to do with the fact that you two were getting close and suddenly one day decided to be at each other’s throats again?” 

“ _ Mind your own business _ .”

“Oh, I plan to. I’m just advising you to fix whatever is going on between you and her, before someone gets seriously hurt.” He pauses for a moment. “Look, Laurel, Dinah is one of those people that will go above and beyond to look out for their friends and if she _ willingly _ risked her neck like that to protect you, that means she cares, regardless of what she may tell you or what you may think.”

Laurel crosses her arms above her chest and blows out an annoyed breath. “And you’re telling me this because…?”

“Because despite this tough front you put up, I like to think that you care about her just as much as she cares about you.”

They don’t say much to each other after that. Diggle simply lets her know that Rene will be taking the first shift and he’ll take the second one, after he spends some time with his family, and that Oliver and Curtis will focus their efforts on investigating some possible leads into Franklin’s whereabouts. She doesn’t say thank you - even if she feels like she should - but does manage to at least wish him a good night back when he leaves.

His parting words swim in her mind as Laurel closes and locks the door, and when she turns around her gaze instantly falls on the couch to her left. She hadn’t been back to Dinah’s place since that night, and now that she’s alone with her thoughts in the room where everything had started, she can’t help the sudden flashes behind her eyes, the sudden memories that bring back sensations, smells and feelings Laurel wishes she wouldn’t be reminded of. But it all comes flooding down like a torrent, helped by Diggle’s words, and no matter where Laurel looks, all she sees is herself and Dinah, bodies flush and lips locked like their lives depended on it.

Laurel shakes her head, like that motion could shake the thoughts out of her mind, and decides it’s best to focus on the now. She’ll have a long sleepless night on Dinah’s couch to look forward to anyway, and maybe that’s just what she needs to put everything in perspective. 

But first she’ll have to make sure the stubborn woman in the next room gets some much-needed rest. 


End file.
